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Please Come to Palo Alto City Hall Tonight to Ask for More Housing

34 points by _linden_ ↗ HN
Palo Alto City Hall will have hearings tonight at 7pm about the future of development in Palo Alto. This hearing began on Monday and you can read more about it here: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2014/08/05/new-voices-join-palo-altos-growth-debate

So far, the overwhelming majority of opinions that the Council has heard have urged for no new residential or commercial development.

I reside and work in Palo Alto and I know I'm not the only one disheartened that it's almost impossible for people to live and work in the same place, much less the elderly and those in need of housing assistance. I'm also disappointed that there has been a failure to recognize that the housing shortage and increased rents have been caused by protectionist development policies and not by "evil tech workers." Please read more about this at: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/sf-housing/

I encourage everyone to come out and have their voice heard. It seems that the we have been quiet for far too long.

2 comments

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natrius
This same story is playing out across the country. Governments mandate low supply in high demand areas, which creates a bidding war that the wealthiest win every time. This is our generation's version of redlining. It is an injustice and it must stop, but you have to actually show up and say something so it's clear that there are votes at stake.

It's going to take more than showing up at one meeting, though. You have to organize and build a constituency for policies that will let more people live where they want to. That's what we're doing in Austin: http://aura-atx.org/

jamespitts
Some advice as I've spoken before for downtown parks in Ann Arbor: write down what you will say. Standing up there you tend to forget!

When planning out what to say, the key is to understand the concerns and especially the misconceptions/fallacies of the opposition.

In this case, ack the traffic concern, emphasize that you want housing to be above shops, next to mass transit, offsetting that concern (conceptually). Another one: reduce crime and saving police resources -- make downtown a place where more people live and walk to work.

It is a boost to your cause if you own a home or local shop, and make sure to mention it as well. Ridiculous but true.

Lastly, think about speaking to creating a good community for future generations, nimbys often speak to the near-term and it sounds shallow.